West Feliciana inmates reinter coffin

WEYANOKE — West Feliciana Parish jail trusties recovered a coffin Tuesday that floated out of a concrete vault at a church cemetery, Chief Sheriff’s Deputy Randy Metz said.

Metz said the pastor of Magnolia Church, the Rev. Larry Pate, requested help Tuesday morning in retrieving the coffin, which floated into some trees after Monday’s heavy rains inundated the cemetery on Magnolia Road.

Sheriff’s Maintenance Supervisor Randy Davis said the water pressure popped the lid off a concrete vault, allowing the coffin to float away.

“There was some water coming out of those hills,” Davis said.

Five inmates recovered the coffin and placed it back in the vault, which had been pumped dry, Davis said.